Swedish Activist Expelled–Does China Recognize The Rule Of Law?

Peter Jesper Dahlin, a Swedish human rights activist helping rural lawyers and poor people, was arrested by the Chinese government as part of their crackdown on human rights activists. Photo: China Files.

Peter Jesper Dahlin is a human rights activist from Sweden, who was recently detained in Beijing on charges of violating national security laws, for which he was expelled from the People’s Republic of China on January 25th. Swedish officials have confirmed that Dahlin has left China.

He was arrested on January 4th as part of a crackdown on human rights activists that began last year. Over 280 individuals, mostly lawyers and legal assistants, have been detained, and while most have been released, some are awaiting trial, while others’ fates are still up in the air.

Dahlin is the founder of an organization called Chinese Urgent Action Working Group (also known as China Action), which works as a legal aid group. They help rural lawyers, and assist disadvantaged people who have complained about rights violations. Considering the Chinese government’s crackdown on human rights activists, his arrest comes as little surprise.

Dahlin was arrested while in an airport awaiting a flight to Thailand, and was detained without access to legal help until his release. Shortly before his release, he appeared on state television to confess that he had helped a Beijing based law firm, Fengrui, which has been charged with subversion. In the confession, he admitted that he “had violated Chinese law, caused harm to the Chinese government and hurt the Chinese public.”

China Action has stated that the confession seems to have been forced, and that it was absurd. American co-founder Michael Caster clarified that Dahlin’s Chinese girlfriend, who had also been detained, had been released, but had not left the country.

The crackdown on human rights activists hasn’t always ended this cleanly, and several people have disappeared in Hong Kong, presumably either having gone to ground or been detained by the government. Meanwhile, it seems that China has no intention of letting up, and is sending a clear message that “Western” ideas will not be tolerated if they run counter to Party rules.